Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-07-16
vicerovs toward en. belIishing Montezuma's

vicerovs toward en- hellishing Montezuma's
capital.
The Churct. is no longer permitted to
hold real Estate, most of its revenues are
cut Oil, and private citizens are now in
vestecs with the titles of property which the
pr csts once held as Gods representatives.
Under the present regime anybody can de-
nounce " Church property and buy II il
for nominal sum-how nominal de-
ponds upon the purchasers status with the
Government. For example in the old city
of Zacatecas the magnificent San Augustine
monastery and cathedral, one of the finest
structures in all Spanish America, was
bought by General 0rtega, one of the IA
vorites of the Liberal party, for ten dollars
Should anybody wonder why this party,
who have proved themselves more narrow
minded in the opposite direction than the
power they undertook TO eradicate, should
be miscalled " Liberal ?" Perhaps the ex
PLANTATION may be found in the unexampled
liberality which they have shown to them
selves in disposing of stolen property.
Hundreds of the churches and cathe-
drals which have not yet been turned to
sordid uses are entirely empty, having been
stripped of everything that could sell or
would burn; and relic-hunters have
capped the climax by knocking the noses
and other members off the sculptured
saints and carrying them away as souve-
Mrs of Mexico Since the revolution
which ended with the murder of Maxi
milan, the Church-previously far more
potent than the Government-has been
| losing its grip with astonishing rapiditv.
! 1t still largely controls the minds and
morals of the lower classes, however, and
there are remote provinces where the
| Padre is yet the most influential citizen
but the revolutionists have deprived him
of political power and robbed him of all
the wealth he once held in the name of the
| Church. About the only altar in the coun-
| try which has not been stripped of its
treasures is that of the miraculous Virgin
of Guadalupe.
| THE PATRoNEss OF MEXICO.
Her shrine, in its church upon the lonely
hilltop, five miles from the City of Mexico,
is still rich with gold and silver, and the
vestments of her sacred images heavy
with precious stones. In this sanctuary
there is balustrade of solid silver seventy
| feet long and three feet high. A few
months ago an enterprising American of
| fered to replace il with silver plated af-
fair of the same design and pay a bonus of
| $500, coo; but the church Indignantly de-
clined the proposition. Not long since one
of the enormous silver chandeliers of the
| Puebla Cathedral was melted down, and,
when coined al the Mint, yielded 10000
silver dollars.
| Speaking of silver reminds me of the
State of Guerrero. Lately some Spaniards
went to Iguala, in that State, to take posses
sion OF tract of land inherited from de-
ceased relative. But the Guerrero Indians
utterly refuse TO give up the ground, not
withstanGing that some faded parchments,
fished cut of the Government archives,
bear witness to the fact that shortly after
the Spanish conquest that section was
officially granted TO the loyal subject and
brave soldier, Don Juan Gonzaga and his
heirs forever" Here is theme lit for the
sainted author of Pomona. The aborig-
ines say We can prove by all the tradi-
tions of our people that our fathers owned
| these hills and valleys during the reign OF
the elder Montezuma. We are not like the
white men-our people never sell their
homesteads and the graves of their ances-
| tors. No pale-face has ever dwelt here,
and we will shoot the first one who dares to
trespass on our domain And they did
shoot, when the alien heirs became i'm
Fortunate. Eight balls were extracted
from the perforated Spaniards, every one
of which was OF solid silver-thus limiting
that the mining lands of Iguala must be
extremely rich. FANNIE 3. WARD.